Saving Grace Doesn't Have To Be Complicated
by OnTheOutsideLookingIn
Summary: NALEY, takes place in the future. Nathan Scott died years ago, leaving his wife, Haley, and their son, Dillon. That's what everyone was told. When Haley gets a job interview in Italy, what happens when she meets his exact likeness? PLEASE R&R. Thanks!
1. Default Chapter

I don't own anything related to One Tree Hill, but I do own my idea. Note: This story is very far-fetched, and only for those who believe in true love and the impossible happening. Please R&R, no flames if you may.

The day was long and dreary. Everything was going wrong. Haley needed him right now; she needed him like she hadn't ever needed him before. "Nathan..." she whispered slowly, her voice breaking. She glanced down at her ring finger. It was still there. She'd never taken her ring off after all these years. It was pretty stupid, considering that he was dead and there wasn't much else to do with it. This was the only time she'd ever even considered selling it, and only because she didn't have enough money left to feed Dillon... Nathan had told her to take care of him before he died.

"Of course I'll take good care of him," she'd reasoned. "He's my son too, you know," she'd said. "You are his mother, and you can give him the kind of love and security and so much more that only a mother can give. You can't give him a father's love, or help him learn the lessons only your dad can help you learn though," he'd said quietly. "Lucas and I talked about it once I found out about the cancer, and he agreed that if I couldn't make it through that he would come around regularly to talk to the little guy, play with him, and teach him how to play basketball... all of the things I would've done with him." "Nathan, please don't do this," Haley had said in a small voice. "It's not over yet. They could find a match." "Nobody's going to be a match for me, Haley. I'm sorry I have to go. I told you once that I would always protect you. I want you to know that I will protect you, and if there is a Heaven, I'll watch over you every single day after I get there." Those were the last words her husband of three years had ever spoken to her.

Lucas did come around regularly, and he was a lot like a dad to Dillon. Luke didn't know, though. She always put on the best face when he came: shopping on the days he visited so the cupboards would be full, cleaning the house up even more than usual, and making sure both she and her son were in their best clothes. Haley hadn't had new clothes in over five years. That was okay, though; she hadn't grown or shrunk any. She still couldn't believe that the insurance hadn't covered all the expenses like they said they would. They'd left her with a pile of debt that kept her up more than one night a week. Haley Scott refused to go on welfare. It would be the final indignity, and she believed that somehow she would be failing Nathan if she did.

Haley walked slowly into the jewelry shop. The ring on her finger seemed to weigh her whole body down. Walking up to the counter with purposeful strides, she swallowed the last of her emotions and said steadily, "I'd like to sell my wedding ring." The old man at the counter appraised the ring without even asking her to take it off. "It's very valuable, young lady. I wouldn't be surprised if something like this fetched in at least ten thousand dollars." "That's impossible," Haley choked. Nathan and she had bought it from a second-hand jewelry shop. They knew the guy at the front had no idea what he was doing, but still... "This is very valuable. It actually has the mark of a famous jeweler from Vienna, Austria. It looks as if the ring is antique, almost; possibly from the mid eighteenth century, I presume." The brunette, still only in her twenties, clutched the ring to her chest, not sure what to do. "If I do sell it to you... I'm still undecided understand, but if I do... will you make sure it goes to someone special? Not just anybody. I'd really like a young couple to buy it, if they have the money. Just pick two people who are really in love though, okay? I mean, people must say that to you all the time, but I'm only really selling it because ever since my husband died..." Haley's face crumpled in it seemed, wondering why she had to bare her soul to a complete stranger now and make such a scene. "You can't be more than twenty-six," the old man said sympathetically. "I turn twenty-five this weekend." "That's an awful way to spend your birthday. Now look, I don't usually do this, but I'll tell you what: we usually only add fifty to one hundred dollars to our bracelets and rings, but I would be willing to add five hundred to one of our rings which two or three buyers want. That way, I could give you a little something extra." The kindness of someone so old who looked like a definite shoe-in in the shrewd category touched Haley. "Thank you," she whispered, placing the ring on the counter. That was it.

$10,450.00 was the total amount of money Haley got for the ring. It was exactly what she needed. Dillon was five now, and starting kindergarten. She needed to have some money set aside for school supplies and school clothes for him, and she was so glad she wouldn't have to buy him clothes from the thrift stores for awhile. This would be able to pay off the last of Nathan's medical bills, and to start a trust fund for Dillon's college tuition. The two of them could make the first down payment on and move into that house only three or four houses away from Karen's house. Thank goodness Haley hadn't ever actually gotten credit cards; that would have made most of this money evaporate. She needed to get back now, though. Dillon was staying with Karen at the café, and she didn't want to be a burden. It really was too bad that the money she earned at the café wasn't enough to keep them going. Everyone thought it was, though. Haley James didn't want anyone thinking that she and Dillon couldn't make it on their own.

Karen smiled at her as she walked through the door. "Haley, how did it go? Did you get a chance to see that new art exhibit you wanted to?" For a minute, her mind went blank and she panicked. Making up complex lies to keep her cover was part of who she'd become sadly, and sometimes she got caught up in them and fumbled through, not quite remembering which outrageous falsehood she'd come up with now. Then it came back to her. "Yeah, I did. It was really great. It really reminded me of Peyton's art in some ways. How is she, by the way?" That was the real secret to her success: always shift the attention. Talking about how cute Dillon was or how proud Nathan would've been of him, or how much she missed Peyton and Brooke, or how glad she was that Karen and Lucas were always there for her made things shift off of her, and her problems. "Well, I was talking to her on the phone a couple of hours before I left for work, and she's in Europe right now. She's painting a couple landscapes, because that instructor of hers who gave her the recommendation said she needed to improve in that area, even though she isn't planning to do anything relative to that in her line of work." "Wow, she must be really excited," Haley said. She was genuinely happy for Peyton. Her life had been so bumpy and turbulent, and getting into that art school for college was the best thing that could've happened to her, even if it did mean she had to put her relationship with Lucas on hold. "Brooke's with her, you know. Here's a surprise: Brooke got married to Jake. They flitted off to Las Vegas only bringing Peyton and Jenny with them before the four of them left for Italy." "Good for them," Haley said, laughing at her friend's impetuousness. Haley wouldn't ever have the courage to do that. "Here's something that I promised Luke I wouldn't tell you until he got here too, but I'll go ahead and say it: Peyton wants you and Dillon to come join them."

Everything around Haley stopped. She couldn't go to Italy! She was practically destitute, and that wasn't even considering Dillon. "Karen, that's nice of her, but..." "Now before you say no, you should know a few things. It's a job for you that Peyton has her eye on. There's an opening in one of their schools for a music and voice instructor. You took a correspondence for college and finished it up a little before Nathan died, didn't you?" Haley just nodded her head. "You also majored in education and minored in music if I'm correct. The job isn't actually in Italy; that's just where they train the new teachers. The job is in New York. You'd be right near Peyton and Brooke, and every other weekend you and Dillon could commute back to Tree Hill if you had the time and money. The job is yours if you want it; Brooke's cousin is the owner of the school." "I need some time to think about this," Haley said. Lucas stepped out from behind a pile of boxes in the back room at that moment. "Don't think about it. We got you and Dillon both passports, and the school paid for your plane tickets. You're booked on the flight that leaves at nine o'clock tonight. No stopovers or anything complicated, you just fly straight there. They'll be waiting for you guys at the airport." "Lucas Scott, why is it that you do this mean, impetuous things instead of letting me decide for myself?" she asked, somewhat irritated. "Because you're the closest thing I have to a sister and Dillon's my nephew and because I love you Hales," he said. She smiled and said, "Well, I guess that we'll have to be doing some shopping." "You don't have to hide anymore, Haley. I found out today when I swung by your apartment. The bills were out, and the fridge was empty. Don't you think we noticed that you're not wearing your wedding ring for the first time in years?" Karen asked. Tears began to form in her eyes. "I'm sorry for not telling you guys," she whispered. "It's fine. We should've picked up on it long ago. We'll always be here for you and I'm always willing to help you guys out. Now it's time for you two to make a fresh start," Karen said as she patted Haley's back.

Haley yawned and stretched. Dillon had conked out awhile ago, but she couldn't seem to fall asleep. Something was strangely familiar about the guy sitting beside her... he looked exactly like Nathan. Of course she'd figured that out at once, but it was more than that. He seemed to act like Nathan, just little things he did, and talk like him too. "Haley, you can't go crazy. This is your chance! You can become a music teacher, something you've always wanted to do, but could never seem to find a place that needed one. You can pay off all your debt with the money from the ring and start from scratch with the money from your job. They're paying considerably more than I thought they would. $70,000 a year for a teacher is almost unheard of, especially an inexperienced one like me. Just relax and stay cool," she told herself. After she sipped on some coke that the flight attendant had brought her, she fell into a deep, dreamless slumber, only to be awakened when the flight attendant announced they were landing and in time to get Dillon ready.

Nathan Scott couldn't believe his eyes. It was Haley James and his son, Dillon. It all came rushing back to him now, and made him feel guilty. He couldn't believe it; it'd been so long. No one had ever known or even suspected anything. A transplant had come in at the last possible minute, and they'd taken Nathan in to receive it after telling Haley it was too late. When he'd woken up, Deb had come by, telling him that Haley wanted nothing to do with him. She'd asked for a divorce, and they'd even been able to sign the papers without him, his mom had said. He rebuilt his life, became a lawyer, and tried to forget about his son and the love of his life. Here they were, though. What business could Haley have in Italy? It didn't matter though; it was best to just avoid her. It was too long apart, and even though there wasn't any chance of the cancer returning since his bone marrow transplant, she still wouldn't love him. He could never figure out why she'd wanted the divorce. Now was his only chance, but something held him back. "It's better this way. Now she can't get inside your head and hurt you again. As for Dillon, the courts would side with her anyway..." At least he had the satisfaction of knowing that they looked happy and well-cared for. Nothing else mattered at this point.

I know you probably think I'm crazy, and if this is really bad that's okay, but it just came from that place of zany ideas that I get, and I wanted to try it and see what happens. This is dedicated to TardyChick06, because she is one of my two faithful reviewers for my Leyton fick, and this is my first Naley fick, or attempt at least. OnTheOutsideLookingIn


	2. I Still Love You Even Now

I don't own anything related to One Tree Hill, but I do own my idea. Note: This story is very far-fetched, and only for those who believe in true love and the impossible happening. Please R&R, no flames if you may.

Haley had a hard time getting off the plane. Dillon still hadn't woken up all the way so she had to balance him on her hip. On top of that, she's brought a carry-on of notebooks and folders filled with music arrangements and teaching methods, and that wasn't adding the cute little camouflage back-pack she'd bought for Dillon awhile back. Conclusively, everything was pretty messed up, and she felt like a wreck. When the line finally started progressing, the stranger who looked so much like Nathan tapped her shoulder. "I know this may make me sound like a child predator or something, but all I have to carry is my briefcase, so I could get those bags for you if you want. She smiled up at him, relieved. The voice inside her head was screaming out "Don't do this! It's stupid to hand a stranger any personal belongings, much less two of the most valuable things you have minus your son! There can't be any harm done, the logical side of her reasoned. In the end she gave him both of the backpacks, and they proceeded into the gate much more easily. Before they reached the entrance, she stopped to collect everything. "I wouldn't be making this so uncomfortable, but I have a group of friends meeting me, and you look a lot like someone I used to know, so it might create a real ruckus..." "You don't need to say another word," Nathan replied hurriedly, hoping that she would catch the anxious note in his voice. He's learned long ago that if he had his back to his old friends at all times and kept walking, they never suspected. They made the trade, and she said pleasantly, "Well, goodbye. I hope you have a nice trip. And a nice life. Or whatever you want to be nice in the course of your existence." She laughed nervously, and he pulled her even further to the side when he noticed the last couple people getting irritated with the hold-up. "Are you okay? I mean, if you need anything you can let me know." Her countenance drooped almost, and she said, "I'm sorry if I seem like a mental case. You remind me a lot of my husband, though. Well, he used to be my husband before... well, I hope you have a nice life," she repeated, and slowly she made her way into the gate, meeting the expected rush of people.

Brooke looked the same as always. She hadn't gained a pound, and her complexion was perfect. Jake was growing a gotee of all things, but she thought it suited him. What could she say about Peyton? Her hair still had the same blond curls, and her piercing hazel eyes and pert nose radiated the artistic talent she was so well known for. Jenny... she could've started crying. The little girl was short, and except for Nikki's eyes, she was daddy's little girl. Brooke was the first one to speak up. "Tutor girl! You're really here! This is so wonderfully amazing! You are taking the teaching job, right? You have to! We'll have so much fun living near each other, and this must be Dillon! He's adorable. Just like Nate, too..." They spent about ten minutes standing there exchanging compliments and hellos. When the close-knit group reached the baggage claim, Jake, always the gentleman, offered to take her and Dillon's suitcases. "That's really nice of you, Jake. Thanks so much!" She'd exclaimed. For a moment, her thoughts drifted back to the stranger. He was so much like Nathan... in another lifetime, she might've believed she was walking in a dream. It was all too much to process. Not that he mattered anymore; even if he did, she couldn't find him when she turned around suddenly, looking through a sea of faces.

Back at the hotel, the lady at the front said they had an excellent day car system she could drop Dillon off in for awhile. Haley hesitated, and Brooke assured her saying, "It's okay, I put Jenny in there for a couple hours yesterday and she loved it." Jake decided to take Jenny for a swim in the outdoor pool to allow the girls some "catching up time." He said this with a wink, and his daughter just giggled with delight as she tromped off in front of her dad; no doubt happy she'd finally gotten a moment or two alone with him. The three women looked at each other for a minute, then all jumped on the bed in Haley's room, screaming. "Oh, wow! I never ever thought in my wildest dreams that I would end up in Rome!" "You're welcome!" Peyton and Brooke yelled simultaneously, and the three burst into giggles as if they were still in middle school. "Okay, so I have to tell you guys a really long, dramatic story that you won't believe," Haley said. She ran through the whole story from beginning to end, not leaving anything out, even the guy who looked so much like Nathan. "Maybe this is your body's way of telling you you're in need of sex," Brooke piped up when Haley mentioned her attraction to the stranger. Peyton threw a pillow at her. "Don't listen to a word this girl says. Besides, I very much doubt she'll feel that way when she starts getting real morning sickness, not just the mild "I need a coke, honey" episodes she goes through every once in awhile. "Brooke, you're pregnant? Congratulations!" "Yeah, well, we have been pretty busy, ya know," said the every-cheerful free spirit with a wink. "This is really great. Why didn't you guys tell me sooner?" "One, because you just got here and we wanted you to have a chance to get over your jet lag and get ready for your orientation and our sight-seeing trips tomorrow," stated Peyton matter-of-factly. "Plus, we thought that you might have some news of your own. I can't believe there isn't anybody new," Brooke ranted. "Guys, I could never do that. I just don't think I'm the kind of person who's meant to have more than one husband, and I don't want to do the whole casually dating scene. That would be cruel to Dillon." "That little guy is such a cutie. I can understand now why you haven't gotten over Nathan. Who could when the spitting image of him is the sight you see every day of your life?" Peyton's observation made Haley defensive. "I have so gotten over Nathan. He's dead. It's crazy to be in love with a dead person, and to wish they were with you and dream about them every night, especially when you wake up crying after those dreams." The two women watched sympathetically as Haley dumped her guts out to them, making herself more obvious with every passing second.

Nathan Scott was scared. That's not your name anymore, he reminded himself. He still couldn't believe the measures his mother had gone to; getting him a new name and id. She'd even created new school and medical records for him, just to make sure "We don't run into trouble," she'd stated. Back then, he was too weak and heartbroken to argue. When he'd finally started demanding answers, his mother had been getting sicker and sicker. She had finally ended up in the hospital with a brain tumor pressing in. During her last few hours, she'd started to tell him things that she'd never mentioned before; things that changed everything. Before he could find out what she was really talking about, though, she was gone. The funeral had been small, and he was hurt that no one but him had come. He would've thought at least Karen might've shown up, but it appeared everything was different now. Nathan had grown more and more estranged to the town of his birth as the years passed, and he'd put himself through hell finishing college in one year so he could graduate from law school early. He'd taken the bar exam and passed it at twenty-three, and now he was part of a well-respected firm back in the states. Forgetting Haley and his son was the one unattainable goal in his life, and now that the memories had been dredged up, he felt such a great pain stabbing at his heart he was closer to tears than he'd ever been. How could she not notice me? The raven-haired young man thought to himself. It hasn't been that long, and we haven't changed that much. That might not be true, man. "Mr. Moore, are you ready to check in?" the young lady at the front desk asked him. "Oh, yeah," he said, wondering how he could've zoned out like that. Out of the corner of his eye he saw a brunette who strongly resembled Brooke Davis pass him, but he shook it off as jet lag playing games with him.

After taking a long nap, Haley promptly picked Dillon up. She hated the idea of anyone else watching him; he was the only family she had left since her parents had died in a car crash a year ago. That brought back memories of Nathan's funeral for some reason... **_"We gather here today in the memory of Nathan Scott; husband, father, and friend to all." Lucas leaned over and rubbed her back. "It's going to be okay, Hales. I'm so sorry that you couldn't have the body. I never would've thought Nathan would want it cremated." The young woman looked down, not realizing that despite everything, she was the picture of tragic loveliness; a silky, ruffled black dress coming down to mid-calf and her hair back exactly the way it had been on her wedding day gracing her body. "This isn't how it's supposed to be. We were in love. We're still in love," she whispered, her voice laced with anguish..._** Those memories were coming back too fast, and Haley had to shake her head to chase them away. When she turned around, she saw the man from the airport. Not knowing why, she chased after him. "Excuse me, but I just wanted to thank you again..." when he turned around, she saw his face flicker with a mixture of joy and pain, then return to its usual matter-of-fact expression. "Oh, it's really no problem. You know, I think I've seen you before..." he gestured, looking as if he was pleading with her to ask her any question that he would gladly answer. "Yeah, like I said, you look like my husband... by the way, what's your name?" she asked curiously, laughing a little bit. He hesitated, looking as if battling with some unknown force. "My name's... my name is Eric Moore," he finally stated. "I'm Haley. Haley James," she replied, tilting her head up a bit. "Well, I guess I'll see you around then," he finally pointed out, looking as if every word was a struggle. "Bye," she responded, hoping that he would disappear so she wouldn't ever have to be reminded of her late husband again.

Lucas was worried about Hales. She still hadn't called to check in. Haley James always called. That was just part of her personality. There was something wrong; he could feel it. He wished that he was with them, holding Peyton in his arms. He was trying to be patient and give her the space and time she needed to get her career solidly cemented, but it was just so painful to be apart from her. She still called him every other day, or once a week at the least when her job was getting busy and the deadlines were closing in. There was something inside Lucas Scott telling him to hop on the next plane to Italy, help Hales out, and take Peyton Sawyer in his arms once and for all. So he did. The plane ride was long and grueling, and it took awhile to negotiate reservations at the hotel with the owner, but he did it. So it began.

OMGOSH that is soooo short! I'm sorry lol but I have writers block. Please r and r! Thanks!


	3. Suddenly Life Will Never Be The Same

I don't own anything related to One Tree Hill, but I DO wish I owned two certain brothers.

Haley was dressed in a nice purple dress. I was simple and came up to her collarbone, with moderately thick straps flowing up naturally and giving the dress a formal and elegant appearance. She was in black pumps and panty-hose, and she'd left Dillon with Peyton and Brooke for the day. Haley Scott was going to her interview. The building the taxi dropped her off at was simple, almost like something you'd see back in the states, really. The paint was beige, and the doorway had some of the more intricate scrolls and twirls that made it look genuinely Italian. "Okay, get ready world, here I come," the young woman said, taking in a deep breath before heading upstairs. "You must be Mrs. Scott," the woman at the front desk stated pleasantly. "Yeah, that's me," Haley said, feeling a little overdressed compared to the woman's simple black pantsuit. "I'll show you in to Mr. Davis's office," she replied serenely, then rose from the chair she'd been in.

The inside of the office was nice, and the man in front of her looked pleasant enough. His hair was graying, and glasses framed eyes identical to Brooke's, with bushy eyebrows protruding the top frame. She nervously fingered her backpack, realizing how shabby it must look in a room filled up with so much high-tech equipment and decked out in shades of black, grey, and white. "Good morning, Mrs. Scott. I understand that my cousin, Brooke, thinks very highly of you. Do you have anything at all to say?" he looked at her curiously. "I'm sorry," she stuttered. "I just imagined that you would be a little bit... oh, I don't know..." "Younger?" the middle-aged man laughed. "My mother was very busy to say the least, and Brooke's mother was more of an 'I'll put it off until I have to deal with it' kind of woman, if you catch my drift." He roared with laughter, and Haley joined in, get the sinking feeling this might not work out. "Well, to get down to business," he said. "As you know, we happen to have the music teaching position at our school open. You probably also know that we are by no means church mice, and we have enough money to pay you very well. Do you accept?" Haley almost spewed out the ice water the secretary had brought her a minute ago. "That's it? You don't want to interview me, ask me about my credentials?" "Well, I've already checked your credentials, and if you don't mind my saying so, you don't have any. However, I've seen old tapes of you singing and playing the piano, and with my cousin's high recommendation, I'm sure you'll do fine. If you don't mind, I would like to see some of your plans for the program, though. As you know, we're trying to rebuild it. Our old teacher left it in despicable form, and we've even had to press a lawsuit about all the trouble." Haley cleared her throat and unzipped her backpack. "All right, I do have some stuff with me. I was looking online, and I found out that the curriculum you've been using is highly respected, but it isn't exactly the best. I couldn't find one that I completely agreed with, so I realized that the easiest thing to do is just to start from scratch. I understand this is a high school teaching position, so why not start off with a brush-up of the basics? You know, give the general music students a preliminary quiz on the staffs, all the different symbols, and then test their knowledge of the most pivotal historical composers before going into a complete musical course based on skill level...." They talked for over two hours about her plans for her choir, band, orchestra, and general music classes, as well as private piano and voice lessons. "Thank you for your time, Mrs. James. I look forward to seeing you tomorrow morning at ten o'clock sharp to meet all of the other staff members and begin orientation." They shook hands and Haley left the building, feeling like skipping as she went.

Nathan hadn't intended to pick up any new cases while he was here. He's only wanted to take care of the matter concerning a law-suit on a bakery of all things, when the headmaster of a prestigious private school back in the states gave him a ring. "Eric Moore, it's good to hear your voice. Listen, we need to press charges against our new music teacher. I finally got around to calling because I had the opportunity to hire a new music teacher earlier today. Listen, I'd really like you to handle this case. "Come on, you know that I'm not supposed to pick up any new cases without consulting my boss," Nathan said, secretly happy at the opportunity to stay close to Haley and Dillon a little while longer. "Please, Eric. Look, we play golf together. We play basketball together. We have drinks and talk about life together. Can't you do this as a favor to your old pal?" "Okay, okay. I'll do it. If I get in trouble for this, though, I'm shifting all the blame to you," Nathan warned. "Whatever it takes to get Eric Moore on my side," the voice on the other side of the line gushed. "Hey, I've got a favor to ask you. It might be a little on the sensitive side, but our new music teacher is in your hotel. Her name is Haley Scott. I thought you might be able to talk to her, just to get a little information about what kind of shape that jerk left our music department in." Nathan flinched. "I'm not sure, Norman... I'm just not feeling it. Maybe I should just stick to the bare statistics and see what dirt I can dig up on this guy." "Eric, you know I wouldn't ask you if I didn't think it was essential to the case. Besides, I might try to fix you and Mrs. Scott up. She's a widow, you know." Nathan had to restrain from laughing aloud and breaking out sarcastically, "So that's what she told you?" Instead, he just gave a hurried goodbye and started down to the hotel restaurant for dinner.

He was passing by the lobby when he noticed someone making a huge fuss out at the pool. Nathan stepped out, not quite sure what to do if there was something going on. "Help, help! I think this little kid broke his leg!" a tearful day care attendant shouted. "Okay, calm down," Nathan yelled, running over to see none other than Dillon. Pushing his shock aside, he tried to get a firm grasp on his son's leg. The bone was almost slicing through the skin. It was a pretty bad break. He heard a moan from the little boy's chest. "Does it hurt a lot?" Nathan asked, not quite knowing what else to say. "My leg is like a knife stabbed through it. I want mommy, and Aunt Peyton and Brooke and Uncle Jake and cousin Jenny!" Tears started rolling down his cheeks. "Where are they?" he asked angrily, wondering how much Haley had changed to put him in something like this. "Mommy had to go to an innervow, and Uncle Jake took Jennay out earlier. Auntie Brooke said hers and Peyton had to go to the hospitals, 'cause Jenny gotst a bad arm, but they didn't want me to go. "Someone call the ambulance, idiots!" Nathan screamed behind him, and then he turned back to his son and whispered tenderly, "It's okay. You're going to be fine, I promise. I'm gonna have to pick you up, little man, and it might hurt a little, but it's the only way I can get you to where your leg will get better." After he'd picked him up, he ran out to the lobby. When there still wasn't an ambulance in sight, he walked to the hospital himself. He spoke Italian well enough to get by. "What relation are you to the boy?" the nurse asked while they were examining him. "I'm his father," Nathan responded without hesitation.

Haley was over to the hospital as soon as she heard the news. She flew inside, and as soon as she saw Eric sitting in the waiting room, she stormed over to him and pounded her fists on his chest. "How could you let this happen to him, Nate?!!!" she screamed angrily, her face heating up as soon as she realized who she was talking to and what she was doing. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to," she whispered, covering her hands with her face. "You have to understand, he's all I have left of my husband, and after he died, I just couldn't bear to lose Dillon too." Nathan gave her an angry look, feeling his face heat up as he shouted, "Don't you recognize me at all? It's me, Hales. Yeah, that's right. I'm sick and tired of you making up all this crap about me dying. You knew what was going on when you divorced me." She looked taken aback and inched away. "I don't know who you are or what kind of a monster you are, but you have no right to play such a cruel joke on me. The doctors told me it was too late. I watched it, and then I had to go down to the lobby to feed Dillon. When I came back up, he was gone, and Deb told me he had died." "What the heck do you think you're talking about? I was there! I got the transplant, at the last minute! Deb told me all about what you did, and how you didn't want to even be in contact with me any more. You left me all alone during one of the darkest times of my life. I loved you! I promised I would always protect you! How could you do this to me?" Finally, a look of recognition flickered across her face. "Nathan?" she asked softly. "It's Eric now, like I told you. Eric Moore. My mom helped me change my name and get into law school. At least she was there for me." "I didn't know, Eric. Your slutty mother stood there and told me to my face that my husband was dead. I didn't believe her, but I broke down. What was I supposed to do? Look for someone who was dead? I doubt that would've gone over well with anyone. Everybody was already worried about me. Do you have any idea what Dillon and I have gone through for the past three years? We were dirt poor, and I couldn't even feed him. I have to sell my wedding ring to pay for food! Then a job position came up. You aren't going to ruin this for me, Nathan Scott! Just leave well enough alone if you aren't willing to even pretend to be part of your son's life.

Nathan watched her go talk to the nurse, and followed her as she went down the hallway towards a room. "What are you doing?" she glared at him. "I'm going to visit my son who's in the frickin hospital," he snapped. "Whatever, just make sure you don't upset him," she shot back. They entered the room and his heart caught as he saw the little guy laying there with machines and a leg in traction. "Mommy?" he said weakly when he saw her enter the room. A wilted smile reached his little features. He looks exactly like me, Nathan realized for the first time. Tears began to well up in his eyes, and then Dillon pointed at him. "Mommy, this is the nice man who saved me. Mommy, how come I've never seen daddy before?" time seemed to stop for a moment. "What would make you think he's your daddy?" Haley asked him softly, obviously overcome with emotion. "He looks like the picture you keep of him on your desk all the time, and he's really really nice. You said daddy was really nice and strong and he protected you from everything. And daddy protected me," the confused little boy pointed out. "Look, sweetie, why don't we talk about this later..." Haley began as Nathan cut her off with "I'm sorry I haven't been there for you, Dillon. Things have been really crazy, and for a long time me and your mommy haven't exactly been on speaking terms. I promise I'll stay with you now, though." Haley shot him a glare, and he said, "You just try to get some sleep, and I'll be right back, kiddo." He kissed his son's forehead, and took Haley's arm and dragged her into the hallway. "I don't know why you hate me so much, but I am going to be here for our son. You go home and get some sleep. I'll stay with him." "He's MY son. I'll stay with him," Haley argued. "You've had the past five years to get to know him, and I haven't seen him in so long. Let me stay with him," Nathan said slowly and softly. She nodded stiffly. "All right, fine. I need to go check in with Brooke and Peyton too. They said Jenny sprained her arm, and the only ride they could find only had room for two passengers." She was about to leave when Nathan kissed her softly, then he re-entered the room, and she stood there motionless for awhile before finally walking away.

Dillon woke up on and off during the night, and he always wanted to talk about something. When the little boy woke up and said, "What's your favorite sport, daddy?" Nathan answered without hesitation "basketball." "I love basketball. Uncle Lucas always plays with me when he visits. You and Uncle Lucas were really good friends, he said. He even said that he thought that you were the best friend he ever had. How come you and Uncle Lucas don't talk any more? Or you and mommy?" Nathan hesitated. "See, your Uncle Luke and your mommy both thought that I'd gone away to a different place, where I couldn't go, see. I thought that they didn't want me around, and I didn't want to hurt them by insisting that I be in their lives anyways. But it was all a big understanding, okay?" he finally replied. "Okay," Dillon said, falling asleep again. That was how the night was: off and on, off and on. When Nathan finally got to sleep, it was almost four. His dreams were troubled; Haley was in her wedding dress, and he was in the tuxedo he'd worn that day. Dillon walked up to them as the ring bearer, and he asked them "Mommy, why don't I know daddy?" Suddenly Haley was running away, and Nathan was going after her. They were going through a long, dark, tunnel, and he couldn't see her. Whenever he got close, she suddenly found another spurt of energy and just kept on running. He woke up with tears in the corners of his eyes, trying to clear his head. Dillon was staring at him. "Daddy, are you okay? You were crying." "I was just having a bad dream, little man," Nathan said, stretching before patting the little kid on the head. "Are you going to leave me here?" his son asked when Nathan reached for his coat, suddenly fearful. "Of course not, I just have to get my cell phone out to talk to your Aunties" Nathan answered, surprised at the lump in his throat. "Okay," he said, and then he fell asleep. When Peyton finally answered, she started cussing Nathan out. After a long blue streak, she stopped to take a breath. "Why would you do that Nathan Scott? We all loved you and cared about you. Heck, Haley's been working herself into a depression for years! If you try to pull anything again, then we WILL hunt you down and make sure you're dead for real this time," she said with emphatic conviction. "It's nice to hear your voice too, Peyt. Tell Haley that I have a business meeting at one today, and I'll need her to take over for me then. I really hate having to leave him here." Peyton's voice suddenly softened as she said, "You really love her don't you? And him too. I can tell. Nathan Scott, it's not fair. Everyone else has to be the bad person when they do something that ticks people off, but you and Luke just have that thing... except with Luke, it's different..." Nathan smiled, getting ready to tease her when she sensed what he was planning. "I've gotta go, Nate. I'll tell Haley you called. Bye!" He clicked off his cell phone and looked down at the little boy sleeping in front of him, a look of peace and contentment on his face despite his condition.

Lucas finally got to the hotel, and the first person he saw was Peyton. Her jaw dropped in surprise, and he enveloped her with a hug, not too sure how much he could get away with at this point in time. "I'm glad you're here," she whispered, and filled him in on everything. "Wow. That's a lot to process. I'm going to go get checked in, and then I'm going over to the hospital to see my brother, okay?" "Okay, bye." Peyton gave his hand a squeeze and walked off. Everything was getting mixed up now, and Lucas didn't like everything in such a state of confusion. "And they tell you the drama stops in high school," he said laughing to himself as he walked off.

Hey guys! I know I promised a longer chapter but my little bro's have been screaming at me for the longest time, and I was trying to get this finished right away. R&R, and give suggestions if you want! OnTheOutsideLookingIn


	4. For Dillon

I don't own anything related to One Tree Hill, but I DO wish I owned two certain brothers. Note: NathanLucasLover-18—I know! I looked back over that chapter and I was like "Wow, that sucked! But I was just trying to deal with some of the nitty-gritty details, and even though I'm not sure what you mean, there's a lot more drama in this chapter.

Haley laid in her bed, a sheet of steadfast tears rolling down her face. If it had been anything else, she probably would've been crying for Nathan, too. It was a habit she had; when something came up, she wouldn't only cry for that tragedy, but she would cry for Nathan, and for her, and how everything had turned out. Since she'd never had the luxurious option of real mourning, this was a nice alternative. Today she wasn't crying for Nathan's death too, though. Today she cried for her son, who was sitting in the hospital of a foreign country with a broken leg, trying to get to know a father who'd never been there for either of them, and today she cried because everything that she'd missed for the past years since her husband had "died" were within her grasp the whole time. There wasn't much else to do but cry it seemed to her. She was in such a state of utter physical and emotional exhaustion that actually getting up and doing something had never occurred to her. She heard a voice, matter-of-fact with the trademark, endearing Scott cockiness woven in say a little too loudly, "I never thought I'd see the day where my best friend in the world, Miss Always Put Together, would actually show a trace of human emotion." She whipped around, and Lucas Scott held out his arms for a hug. Instead, she threw the bottle of lotion on the nightstand at him. "Lucas Scott, you are the most insensitive, rude, uncaring best friend in the entire world!" she screamed and he literally jumped back, dodging as Haley threw everything within reach of her at him. "FIRST you send me off to Italy. As if that isn't enough, I have to meet my husband who's been dead, or who hasn't been dead apparently, for years! Then my son gets a broken leg, and you traipse in here accusing me of not being put together?! Who could be put together in my place?" "Whoa, calm down, Hales. I didn't mean it. I was only trying to lighten up the situation with a joke! Obviously a really bad joke though. You know what? Why don't we start over? I apologize for acting like I've been ejected from a rat's behind, and you give me a hug and then we go over to the hospital to visit Dillon and Nathan." Haley blew out a huge gust of air, obviously irritated. "You know, I didn't want to forgive you. Or Nathan either. Why should I? I have a right to be mad at somebody for the way my life's turned out, don't I? It would be justified if I was to scream at you because you're the person closest in relation to Nathan, right? I'm even justified in hating Nathan, or Eric or whatever, but still loving him a lot, right?" She gave him a pleading look, and Lucas shook his head. "See, Hales, this is where we always run into trouble. I can't talk to you about all that girl PMS stuff, because I'm a guy. Now, if you were willing to just ask for a shoulder to cry on, or beat on or whatever," here the blond grimaced, "That would work. I just can't do this whole loving Nathan thing when I haven't even seen him or talked to him yet." "PMS, huh?" Haley said with a small smile, and Lucas held out his arms again. This time, she gave him the innocent hug he'd been waiting for since he came.

Brooke, Jake, and Peyton all waited in the hospital waiting room until the doctor told them they could take Jenny home. They all helped her out to the car and buckled her in, something she couldn't quite do with her arm. This time they'd thought to get two cabs that could hold them all, something Brooke and Peyton would never forgive themselves for not doing with Dillon. The car ride home was lively as Jenny talked all about how much her arm hurt, but how that was okay because the "Pretty lady in white" had given her endless amounts of popsicles and ice cream and even made sure that they gave her the kind of anesthetics that had anti-nausea doses in them to prevent her from any discomfort. "I liked it a lot in there, but I'm still glad to be back with you and mom," she exclaimed, snuggling up against Jake. "Hey, sweetie, that's pretty cool. I'm glad that it wasn't that bad. Now when we get back home you can have a story to tell you friends that'll get them all wondering around after you, talking about how strong and brave you are." Jenny wrinkled her nose. "The only strong and brave girl in my grade is Shanquilla, and she's the school bully. Everybody hates her." Jake laughed, and soon they pulled up to the hotel.

When they finally got inside, Brooke, Jenny, and Jake got a chance to say hi to Lucas. "Wow, and to think I always thought both the Scott brothers would end up in an alley making drug deals and living in the ghetto by the time they were nineteen," Brooke said sarcastically as she gave Luke a hug. "It's nice to see you too, Brooke. Hey, Jake. Congrats on the wedding you two! I don't think I could've tied the not the early on," Lucas said, shaking Jake's hand. "Oh, well you know me, always exceeding everyone's expectations," Brooke said with a giggle. "Is this really little Jenny? Man, I haven't seen you in years! How are you, sweetie? Besides the broken arm, I mean." They all laughed, and Jenny blushed and leaned up to Brooke, whispering something in her ear. "Yes, he is taken, Jenny. Besides, even if he wasn't I'm not sure I'd be comfortable with the idea of you going after an older man." Everyone laughed as Jenny rolled her eyes in embarrassment. "Hey, guys, Haley left for the hospital a little while ago. I was thinking we could all go over and be there for moral support after we got stuff settled in," Lucas offered. "You know what? That's a good idea," Peyton replied. "We can work out some kind of a shift so that there's always one adult with Nathan and Haley and three of us with Jenny." Brooke nodded enthusiastically, and they soon decided that Lucas would be the first one to visit the hospital. After giving him directions, he was gone. Peyton looked after him a little longer than necessary, and Brooke said jokingly, "Here, I'll get you a napkin to catch some of that drool with." Peyton elbowed her, and the two walked off after Jenny and Jake.

Haley swept into the hospital room, leaning down and kissing Dillon. "Hey, baby, you okay? Mom's been worried about you a lot, you know." "I know. Why wouldn't you be?" Dillon said, and Nathan laughed while Haley rolled her eyes. "Don't encourage him. He'll just start up again and again, talking about what a star he is." "Mom, you're the one who's always saying I'm really special. Why can't I go awound and tell other peopawll?" Nathan really smirked at this comment, and watched Haley stumble over her answer. "If this is so funny, why don't you try taking a stab at it?" Haley said, but for a minute he caught some of her old playfulness instead of the irritation she had towards him constantly right now. "No way am I going to try answering that one, Hales. You dug yourself into this hole, so you might as well dig yourself out of it." "Is that a fact? I'll have you know Nathan Scott that I intend to make sure my son is never as cocky as you are." "Well then, you'll have to protect him from yourself. I mean, obviously if you're too good to even talk to me for real about everything, than you're pretty cocky yourself." She froze after he said this, and looked him straight in the eye. "This is why I wish you hadn't come here, Nathan or Eric or whatever you go by these days. You just can't seem to let things be. Why don't you just leave us all alone? You've already permanently screwed up my life. Why not find some other girl to screw over and then leave once you "die"?" Dillon sat back watching this, his little face becoming more and more troubled. Suddenly Lucas came through the door. He was about to leave when Nathan noticed him. "Hey, man. I haven't seen you in years." "Yeah, it's like you're back from the grave," Lucas pointed out, and the two of them laughed and gave each other a guy hug. "It's been too long, I think, since I've beaten your sorry but in a game of basketball," Lucas said with conviction. "Yeah, that may be the way you remember it, big brother, but I can guarantee you it never went down that way," Nathan replied. The two laughed again, and Lucas made his way over to Dillon. "Hey chomp, what's up?" "Hi Uncle Lucas!" Dillon chirped. "Do ya see my leg? It's hurt really bad. Do you see him? That's my daddy." Dillon pointed straight at Nathan. "You guys are still best friends. I'm happy. That means mommay must like him a lot too?" Lucas glanced from one of them to the other, and replied hesitantly, "You're dad and I will always be best friends, I think. As for your mom, she never could stay mad at either of us." "That's good, 'cause I hate it when people are mad at each other," Dillon said, going to sleep with a smile on his face. It pained Haley to just watch her son, so much like Nathan, that she'd spent what people had told her would be "the best years of her life" raising. They had truly been the best years of her life in some ways, but also the worst, because they'd been spent without her soul mate. Now that he was standing right next to her in the midst of an awkward silence, all she wanted to do was run and hide. Nathan Scott always made her feel exposed, and when they'd been married that had been all right, because she'd trusted him to protect her and love her, just like she would to him. Now, though, she didn't have any such assurance, and she wished she could hide her face from everyone she knew and just disappear inside herself to that place far away, where none of this would matter...

She snapped back out of it as soon as Lucas started talking. "I'm going to go down and get us some coffee, Nathan. You look like you've been through the ringer. Then again, Dillon is really talkative, so he must've kept you up all night." "Yeah, that would be great. Thanks man, I'll pay you back." "It's on me. Now we're even from all those years ago when we had that dinner at... Red Lobster, I think, and you covered for me." "I'd forgotten about our high school graduation lunch," Nathan said with a smile. "Do you want anything Haley?" Luke asked her cautiously. "That's okay, I'll just ride it out." After he'd left the room, Nathan finally spoke up. "I know you think I'm an ass, in the most literal sense of the word, too. Just give me a chance, though. Let me get close to Dillon, and get to know my son. I really want to, and you heard him. He thinks everything's going to be like Leave It to Beaver as soon as he gets out of here. Can't you just put up with me, for his sake at least?" "Okay. I'll do it because he deserves some innocence, and because I love my son more than anything else in this world," she answered sullenly, looking down when she said the last part. Nathan cleared his throat and said uncertainly, "Yeah, we'll do it for Dillon."

I know this was ever so short! I'm really trying, though, guys! I tried to bring better writing techniques into chapter two and I didn't like the results, so please let me know if this chapter is any better! Thanks! OnTheOutsideLookingIn


	5. Something Good That Went All Wrong

I don't own anything related to One Tree Hill, but I DO wish I owned two certain brothers.

Two days went by, and in between shifts at the hospital, Nathan and Haley took turns eating and sleeping. The slow, monotonous pace made Dillon restless, and with his agitation, Haley started getting agitated too. Instead of crying for her when he woke up in the middle of the nights, he had started crying for Nathan. Even more disturbing to her was the way he'd picked up the habit of calling him Dad. Nathan wasn't exactly discouraging him, either. Who the hell does he think he is? She had wondered more than once. It wasn't as if she was being hostile to him, but all of her emotions were piled up inside of her, and her fear of them overflowing deepened each time she looked over at him.

Nathan stood outside the hospital door, communicating with the nurse for the thousandth time, trying to understand why Dillon couldn't go back to the hotel. "The infection in his leg, it be bad.... Screws coming loose in his leg mean another surgery, not very priced." He felt like shouting at her broken English, but reminded himself that that probably wouldn't go over very well. "I don't think you understand," he said impatiently. "Another surgery is fine, but his mother needs to leave the country soon. It would help if he could be on the plane with her." He flinched at the sarcasm radiating through his voice, and only relaxed once he realized she was so busy concentrating on getting through the language barrier she didn't notice. "Oh, his mother is leaving with him after this? Tell them to visit Tower of Pisa first. Very, very nice, and not too expensive. Make sure their trip was pleasant." Her complacent expression drove him up the wall, and after twenty more minutes of the same awkward struggling, he finally waved goodbye and walked back to the room. The sight of Haley almost knocked the wind out of his lungs. She was wearing one of the same dresses she'd worn when she came by after school to drive him to chemotherapy. She had stayed with him through it all: the vomiting, his hair starting to fall out.... Those memories were surprisingly some of his best, simply because she'd been in them. Her hair was tucked behind one ear and spilled over on the other side, masking her face so Dillon couldn't see the many tears streaking down them. The only time he thought she had looked more beautiful was on their wedding day, and his whole being was screaming at him, telling him to take away all the hurts and make everything better. Without even realizing what was happening, he did exactly that.

When the strong arms had first enveloped her, Haley had rested her head into his neck for the smallest second before realizing what was happening and pushing him away. "What the heck do you think you're doing? Your son is laying here in the hospital, and you think that just because you gave some big Nathan Scott To The Rescue routine you can come back into our lives? Well guess again, because my son will never, ever be exposed to a monster like you. You lied to me, you deceived everyone who loved you, and you left us. I never asked for you to be the perfect father! I never asked for you to do everything and make all the bad things go away! All I wanted was for you to be there, to hold me close and make all my fears go away. Instead, you deserted me, you betrayed me, and you got the luxury of pretending all of this never even happened! If you want to come back into our lives now, you'll have to accept the fact that you frickin can't, because I'm not willing to let you do any of that again. Your money, your clothes, your profession, and your stupid, stupid one-liners aren't going to get you very far. I hate you, and I hope I never, ever have to see you again. If there really is a heaven, than it'll be the one place where I can get away from you. Leave now, and you better hope that I never run into you again, because if I do you won't survive it. I don't even trust myself to look at your picture any more. Do the thing you're best at Nathan Scott. Go ahead, and run away from everybody and everything that used to matter to you. We won't be disappointed this time though. This time we'll be cheering you on." Her words cut deeper than any knife could've, but he didn't seem to notice that. What he noticed was her vulnerability, her utter anger, and the fact that even though she meant every word she said, there was something inside of her that seemed to have wanted it as much as he did. He backed away towards Dillon, roughing his hair up and kissing his forehead before walking out of the hospital room, hoping she would ask him to wait. That was all it would take. She didn't have to make a long speech about how she was sorry for something that was really his fault, or start acting like a slut. All Haley Scott had to do was call his name one more time. She didn't, though.

The young woman crumpled in a heap onto the floor, laying there sobbing. She fell asleep in that position, and Lucas was the first person to find her. "Aw, Hales, it didn't have to go down like that," he said softly, understanding what had happened, and lifting her up gently. "Yes it did. I am so, so angry at him, but right now I'm too exhausted to care. I'd much rather just fall asleep than deal with anything of importance." Lucas treated her like a child, gently wiping away her tears with a wadded-up tissue and throwing it into the trash can, lifting her up onto the bed beside Dillon who was simply in a cast by that point, and tucking the covers around both of them, smoothing her damp, matted hair out of her forehead and tucking it behind her ears. "Thank you for being my big brother right now, Lucas," she said, smiling as the whimpers started subsiding and her tears fell less numerously and frequently. "I am your big brother, Haley, and you're my little sister. I'm gonna call Peyton and see if she can come over for awhile so I can get some stuff straightened out for you, okay?" She nodded silently and struggled against gravity as her eyelids drooped. She finally gave in, and Lucas smiled sadly and said, "Nate, I do everything I can, but I'm not her husband. We're not in love and I can't act like the kind of prince she wants me to be. I can protect your son, and I can try to protect her, but that in itself is dishonest and won't last much longer once Peyton finishes up with everything." "I know man, and that's okay. I just really wish you'd never had to in the first place," Nathan said from the doorway. Lucas whipped around, and as the last of his pride unraveled, Nathan started crying. His cries got louder, and his sobs were shaking his body so violently he looked like he was having a seizure. Lucas didn't care how wrong it looked, or that it might wake someone trying to take a nap up, he hugged his little brother and said in an almost paternal voice, "It's okay, man. It's okay."

Nathan shifted from foot to foot more than a little uncomfortably. He always ended up being the bearer of bad news, but this wasn't exactly your run-of-the-mill bad news. It was the last thing Haley needed, really, but they needed to get all this stuff cleared up before he started interviewing her for his questions about the lawsuit. Lucas had managed to calm her down to the point where she wasn't ready to shoot him every time she saw him, but she didn't do very well at masking her intentions towards him when he came to visit Dillon. Then again, she probably didn't even try. That in itself was kind of discouraging, but it was best not to dwell on the things he couldn't change. The matter at hand was a lot scarier than anything else he could've tried to face, he thought with a smirk, and he didn't even have Haley there to tell him "Oh, don't worry, I very much doubt she'll kill you when you lay it out like that." If she had been there and had known what he knew at the moment, she would probably be much more likely to have picked up the first object within reach and hurled it at him. Either way, he still had to tell her at some point, and hopefully the less disturbing part would make up for at least some of what he had done over the years.

Brooke rolled over and stretched, smiling at the sight of Jake laying there, his brown hair ruffled up just the way she liked it. The thought of giving him a nice little wake-up call was appealing, but she opted on just letting him sleep in for the day. Peyton and Lucas had taken their turns at the hospital yesterday, and since she was really looking forward to checking up on the Nathan and Haley drama, she'd better get a move on. That's not very nice, she told herself. You're visiting to provide support for Nathan and Haley to make sure they don't go through nervous breakdowns while their only son is in the hospital of a foreign country, awaiting his second surgery on a wicked broken leg. It still doesn't hurt to monitor the tension and see if those two are anywhere near getting back together, she though with a small, consoling smile. Even though she hadn't shown it, Nathan and Haley had really been her favorite couple in high school. It was more important to her for them to stay together than for anyone else. If they broke up, than what hope was there left for true love? Smiling again, she picked out a yellow halter top and a black skirt, relishing in the thought of getting to be a first-hand witness to a play any soap writer would envy.

Here he comes again, Haley thought with a shiver. Isn't it possible for him to just leave us alone? I want him out of my life. Okay, so maybe that's not entirely true, but that's what you need to keep telling yourself if you ever want to get anything accomplished here, she argued. "Hey. Look, I normally wouldn't be barging in on you like this when Dillon's sleeping, but..." "Will you just get to the point, Eric?" the brunette interrupted. Nathan flinched, taken aback at her pushy, rude attitude. "I need to ask you some questions for a lawsuit your school is making against the former music teacher." "Fine, ask away. How you managed to get so much power over my life is really tearing me up. I mean, now I either have to talk to you or lose my job." "Okay, I know you don't like this, but it's necessary. First off, can you tell me what a good music curriculum would include in your opinion?" "A solid music education needs five things: musical history, theory, application, composition, and performance. Without theory, you have no building blocks for composition or application. Without those three, you have no basis for good performance which is essential to growth, and without history, you have no model, no basic format to pursue." "So this is what happens when people start reciting random information out of textbooks," he smirked as he scribble a few things down. "Hey, if you want my cooperation you better shut up and get through this as quickly as possible," she snapped. "Okay, okay. Now, if you had to give us the ideal music system and compare it to the one you found when you began working, how would the two compare?" "Well, if you go strictly by the five points I talked about, he only had two: history and theory. The style he taught in was so incomplete, over seventy percent of his students failed the course. That's not even mentioning the fact that most of them had a very high musical aptitude when originally tested. He spent over $100,000 on equipment and textbooks that were very low in quality, most of them which he didn't even use. The way he treated the instruments and supplies was so clumsy and ignorant, most of them are damaged quite severely, if not ruined." "Please add a little personality to this! We're not the Brady Bunch and you don't have to pretend that everyone speaks word-perfect. If this was your testimony in court and I was part of the jury, I'd be taking a nap right now! You have to have passion, emotion, and you have to take some pride in the fact that you're the one who came in and cleaned all this up. Without that, this case won't get anywhere." He yelled, smacking the table with his fist for emphasis. "Fine, whatever it takes to get through this more quickly so I don't have to spend any more time than necessary with you," Haley muttered. "The feeling's mutual, believe me," he stated more loudly than needed.

They had gone through everything, but before he left, Nathan said quietly, "Hales, I'm sorry for everything, and I'd like to apologize for being so harsh with the questions and everything." "Fine. Just leave, please," his wife said, wearing an expression of exhaustion on her face. "I need to talk to you about something first. I was under the impression that we were divorced, and you were under the impression that I died. Well, as it turns out, we're still married. I drew up the divorce papers, and I hope you don't mind the way I split the property," he handed a stack of papers over to her. "Why couldn't you just leave? It's not like I'm planning on marrying anyone else any time soon," she snapped. Leafing through the papers, her face reflected disbelief, contrition, and the smallest hint of a smile. "Why, Nathan? I mean, I wouldn't blame you if you sent me to the cleaners after the way I've been treating you, and then took custody of Dillon on top of that. Instead, you give me dominant custody and 80 of our combined estate? I only owned about 15 of everything to begin with." "Well, to begin with, you're Dillon's mom. He deserves to be with the woman who's raised him, and as long as I get weekends steadily, and maybe a holiday here and there to get to know him, who am I to complain? Secondly, out of that estate, I only really use about $20,000 a year, and with a job that makes $150,000 a year, most of it just sits in the bank, so child support really shouldn't be a problem. You guys deserve to be happy and well-cared for, and if you don't want me in the picture, than I might as well throw in some behind-the-scenes magic," he responded, looking down at his briefcase when he got to the last part. "Nathan..." she started, but he cut her off. "I changed my name back, so I'm officially Nathan again, thank God. After I worked everything else out and cleared this with your lawyer, all that's left for us to do is sign. He pushed the sheet towards her, motioning to his already-signed on to show her where she needed to sign. Taking hold of the pen, the young mother looked hesitant. She moved to pen down towards the line, but dropped it at the last minute. "Can I have a couple minutes?" she whispered, trying to hold back the emotion. "I'd really like to get this done now. It hurts enough as it is, and if you have one shred of compassion left, than you'll just sign right now." Haley nodded slowly, and lightly scrawled her signature at the bottom. "There it is. You have what you wanted." "All I wanted was a second chance with you, Haley. That's obviously not going to happen, though, so maybe I should just leave before things get any worse." He grabbed the papers and shuffled out of the room, pausing at the doorway. "I'll wait until we get back to the states before I send them in or finalize everything. Hopefully you'll have enough time to think things through, and decide what days I'm allowed to have him and everything." "Bye," she called out weakly right before he left. Looking back, he gave the smallest and softest of smiles and said, "It's better this way, Hales. Those years were the best of my life, but sometimes a good thing has just been bad for too long for it to ever be good again. Bye."

Brooke came in to Haley sitting in the chair next to the window, looking out at everything. Fingering her material of her skirt uneasily, she chirped, "Hey tutor girl. I have a surprise for you and I bet you're just oh so eager to know what it is. Never fear, though, because tonight the three legendary girls form the good old days are going out to eat, just us." She was rewarded with the smallest of smiles from Haley when she said, "We better go shopping then, because I don't have anything to wear and being the third member of hoes over bros, I better scrounge up something." They laughed and waited until Dillon was awake and Jake and Jenny were there, then departed, determined to rip apart every store in Italy and then be joined by Peyton later on.

Hey, guys! Wow, I haven't updated in awhile! I know this is really kind of blah in parts and the ending is a little awkward, but I'm working on it here! Read, Review, Request! OnTheOutsideLookingIn


	6. Do You Believe In Magic?

I don't own anything related to One Tree Hill, but I DO wish I owned two certain brothers.

"Brooke, this is really way too daring. I mean, seriously. Look at me. Look at this dress. Look at me in this dress," Haley stated doubtfully. "Oh, come on, Tutor Girl! This night was made for fun, games, great food, and that hint of sexuality you love to get from the cute waiters at the table next to yours!" "You know, she may just be right. I mean, seriously, Haley. You could pull that off in a heartbeat, and when you consider what Brooke and I are wearing, you'll feel even more out of place if you don't have something absolutely positively stellar to go with it," Peyton added, a little more cheerfully than usual.

"What's the deal with you?" Haley asked, hoping to draw attention away from herself and the sticky subject at hand. "Nothing's different, or in any way worse or better. Everything's the same. I'm just happy to be out with my girls for a night is all. Besides, you're just trying to shift the focus, Hales. It isn't gonna work." Brooke giggled joyously as she shoved the dress at Haley and the two of them shoved her into the dressing room, suddenly remembering another time they'd done exactly the same thing....

"_If you don't come out, we're coming in there with you!" Brooke exclaimed, obviously meaning her threat. "Okay, okay. Fine," came the muffled response from Haley. She emerged from the dressing room in a black and grey negligee, her hair in lopsided pigtails. "Guys, I really can't pull this off," she said desperately, and Brooke smiled with her reply. "Let's leave that one up to Nathan." She and Peyton turned towards one another and laughed, awaiting their next stop. Pole dancing would be... interesting at the least..._

Brooke and Peyton snapped back into the present when Haley emerged from the dressing room. "Well, here I am, in all of my glory," she said sarcastically, striking a mock pose next to Peyton. "That definitely is you in your glory, Hales. You look amazing!" Peyton remarked as she gave her a playful shove. Seeing Haley James Scott decked out in a black even gown with practically no back, a low-cut front, and high heels was practically a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. "I have to give you props, Tutor Girl. I'm not sure if even I could beat that. Then again, I wouldn't try to steal your fire, so I guess that makes us even," she said with a wink. "Whatever you're talking about, I can't figure out for the life of me, but I guess it's safe to assume we're getting the dress, then?" Haley surmised with her eyebrows lifting. Brooke and Peyton shook their heads, replying in unison, "That's safe to assume, Tutor Girl."

This dinner is exactly what I needed, Haley thought as she slid into the chair. When the man had tried to give them a four-person table, they'd literally pushed the fourth chair out of the way so that "Conversation would flow more easily," according to Brooke. Haley and Peyton both knew that Brooke was just using it as an excuse wreak a little bit of havoc.

"So, Tutor Girl, besides the fact that you were about to order in for food stamps before you came here, what's happening?" Brooke asked somewhere between the breadsticks and the salad. "Don't over-dramatize it so much. We're okay now, and thank you both so, so much for everything. This has been the best experience of my life. Well, except for Dillon breaking his leg of course. Nathan showing up didn't help it either," she muttered, her mood darkening. "Are you so sure about that?" Peyton questioned softly. Tears pooled in Haley's eyes as she looked up. "I'm sure. We're finalizing the divorce when we get back to the States, and all I can do is hope that he doesn't corrupt Dillon." "Nathan may be a lot of things, Haley, but for some reason I'm not inclined to believe a bad father is one of them," Peyton said, a little stronger than before. "Yeah, I know. That's why it's so hard to keep myself from loving him all over again," Haley replied dolefully, not realizing what had tumbled out of her mouth until it was too late to take it all back. Brooke finally spoke up again. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you already have fallen in love with him." "Maybe you're right. It doesn't matter now, though," Haley replied. Just then the waiter appeared. "So, what will your order be tonight?"

Jake, Lucas, Nathan, and Jenny were all at the hospital. Instead of opting to stay in the baby-sitting care, Jenny had adamantly refused, along with a plea to "visit Uncle Nathan." It was amazing how quickly she'd taken to calling him that, even though he wasn't related to her in any way, shape, or form. After awhile she'd fallen asleep next to Dillon on the hospital bed, and the three men were left to talk among themselves.

"So you're really divorcing, huh?" Jake was the first to come out with. "Yeah. I mean, it isn't my choice, but it's what Haley wants, and that's the only thing that I care about. It's what's best for her, and she's letting me be part of Dillon's life. That means that in some small way I'll always be in her life, too, right? I guess that's all I can hope for right now." "How are you sure she wants a divorce? I mean, she was always so happy with you before, and you just about lit up from head to toe whenever she entered the room. You still do bro," Lucas put in. "I can't picture ever divorcing Brooke. I mean, it sounds stupid because no one would've ever pictured us together in high school, but some things are meant to be, you know?" "You're one lucky guy," Lucas replied, adding in, "but I sure wouldn't want to be you. A free spirit like her isn't just feisty. It's more like..." he struggled for a polite way to phrase what he was thinking. "insane," Jake finished for him. They all laughed.

"You know what? I'm happy that things turned out this way. I mean, if they hadn't then I might still be wondering why Haley wanted a divorce so many years ago, and she might still be thinking I'm dead. However you look at it, it's really a win-win situation now, because she's getting the extra financial boost she needs, and I get to be near Dillon." The young father gently gave his son a rub on the back. "Man, we've really changed a lot. It's amazing we can still be in the same room without strained conversations," Jake mused, and they all agreed. "Maybe it's just something about our group. I mean, look at Haley, Brooke, and Peyt. Those three have an amazing bond, and I have a feeling hoe's over bro's will never fall," Lucas responded. "Peyt? Since when did we stop calling her Peyton?" Nathan teased, and Lucas got a little-boy blush flooding his cheeks. They all laughed, and Jake gave him a playful punch on the arm.

"You know what? This place is so dull. I think that we need something a little bit more exciting to make this night worth remembering," Brooke commented innocently during dessert. "Brooke! This is the only time we are every going to get to experience the astounding wonder of Italian chocolate! Can't I at least finish this? It's sooo good!" Haley begged. "I'm inclined to agree with Haley. I mean, let's face it Brooke, out topless days in the middle of a bar are long past," Peyton said with a smirk. "Oh, give me a break; nothing like that. I was thinking more along the lines of some karaoke. The restaurant owner already gave me the go-ahead this morning, and there's a piano, some split tracks, and Haley James!" "You guys know I haven't sung in front of people for forever! I'll get way too nervous!" "Just play one of the songs you wrote, Hales. You've got to know at least one by heart, and this crowd will be blown away regardless," Peyton reasoned. "She's right, you know. You're young, beautiful, and ready to wow all single and available guys out there!" Brooke added enthusiastically. "Fine, but just this once," Haley gave in. "Yes! I knew the cave was coming sooner or later!" Brooke said with a smile as she high-fived Peyton.

Haley seated herself at the piano. The buzz of the restaurant didn't quiet down, and she look to Peyton and Brooke for reassurance, which she got. Then, quietly and intently, she began. "Every night I watch you sleeping/ Dreaming silently at night..." everyone stopped what they were doing. A hush fell over her audience, and they were held captive by the gentle, melodic notes. When it was finally over she stifled a sob. "Oh Nathan," she whispered, hating that his face kept reappearing in her thoughts, and hating that no matter how many times she tried to deny it, she would always love him more than anyone else and in a way no one else would ever know. Everyone clapped, and a large man near the back whistled. "Encore, encore!" he shouted. She smiled, and decided to indulge herself just one more time... or maybe more... tonight would be her night to get out the music that had been so despairingly locked up inside her for so long, and tonight would be the night she remembered, and then made a desperate effort to forget, Nathan Scott.

The next morning, Dillon was scheduled for surgery. Big, fat tears rolled down his chubby little face. "I don't want them to put a needle into my arm mommy!" he exclaimed desperately when the anesthesiologist came up. "Oh, honey, it'll be okay. The doctor's just need to fix something in your leg, and this'll make sure you don't feel anything. It'll be like taking a long, happy nap," Haley said, trying desperately to convince her son, as well as herself. "Daddy, why can't I be with you and mommy during the surgery?" Dillon inquired, redirecting his line of questions. "Well, chomp, the doctors know that mommy and I would be too upset to let them do their job if we were in their. We love you more than anything, and we'd be overprotective," Nathan answered awkwardly, fumbling for an answer that would make sense to the anxious little mite.

After another two or three pointed and tearful question, the anesthesia started kicking in. With the exception of the strangers in the waiting room, there was no one but each other to talk to. Jake, Brooke, and Jenny had had to leave that morning to continue on their honeymoon trip through Europe, Peyton had been paged back to New York to do a series of comic strips for a commentary on New York's governor, and Lucas had decided to go with her (surprise, surprise). Of course, they'd all offered to stay if Haley and Nathan wanted them to, but were shooed away with promises that everything would be fine.

"So... have you given any more thought to the custody arrangement?" Nathan finally broke the silence with. "No. I'd actually kind of been hoping the whole situation would go away..." Haley drifted off, looking down at the floor. "It's okay to be sad, you know. We were married for so long, and even though we were out of contact for years, we still didn't get a chance at any closure. It's just that I think it would be better to get things worked out now, instead of waiting until later on. It'll just hurt more that way." "I thought the whole point of this was to get as far away from me as possible so that you don't get hurt," Haley blurted out, raising her voice.

"I wouldn't ever try to get away from you! You're the one who's hurt me more times than I can count! How many times was I supposed to say sorry without accepting that you aren't planning on forgiving me any time soon, and just giving in and accepting that I'm not what you want anymore?!" "What I want and what I wanted aren't that different. You're what I wanted every night that dreams of you kept me up for the last five years, giving me nightmares and making me cry in my sleep! You're what I wanted when selling my wedding ring was the only way to survive! You're what I wanted every night I went to bed empty, waking up from a bad dream without anyone there to hold me and make me feel safe! You're what I wanted when I needed someone to protect me, and to kiss all the hurts and worries away! You were never there, though, so I got used to it. Now I'm so used to it I hardly even notice the pain anymore. Go ahead and walk away, Nathan Scott, because you will never, ever be the same man as I married if you're willing to give up this easily."

Instead of walking away, Nathan grabbed her shoulders and gave her a slight shake. "I'm not going anywhere Hales. You're it for me; you and Dillon. Don't you understand that? I loved you the first time I kissed you, and I love you now. I don't care what I said before. I love you, and this is reality. I'm touching your shoulders, and this is reality. I'm here now, which is what you just said you wanted, and this is reality. Now I'm going to kiss you, and it's going to be reality, and you're going to be happy with it." They did just that, in front of a waiting room full of people. Nathan and Haley didn't mind, though; they were out there, reality, for the whole world to see.

Two Months Later

"Mommy, look at what I found in the yard!" Dillon squealed. He pulled a slimy, wet little frog out of his back pants pocket. "Dillon! Go put that back outside! What have I told you about getting frogs from the backyard?" "If God wanted frogs to be indoor pets, he would've made them soft and furry, not slimy and creepy," Dillon said with a sigh. "What's going on here, young man?" a deep, booming voice said. Dillon giggled. "I know it's you Uncle Lucas! Do you know when daddy's getting home?" Lucas scooped the little boy up. "He'll be here any time. Didn't your doctor tell you to stop going outside with your crutches and cast?" "I can walk fine. Those doctors are just stupid," Dillon muttered, and Lucas and Haley laughed at the trademark Scott cockiness.

A pair of strong arms slipped around Haley's waist. "Hey there, stranger," she greeted him, a smile in her voice. "I get the impression we've met before," Nathan replied, and they laughed softly. They were both vaguely aware of Lucas ushering Dillon out of the room, but they didn't make any comments. Nathan laced their left hands' fingers together, stopping to look at Haley's ring and rub it with his thumb, a habit he'd picked up. "I still don't know how you found it," she whispered. "It's was really easy. I have friends in high places." "We'll have to be quick, because my husband's coming home soon," she murmured, her smile still in place. "Just so long as he's not big and strong," Nathan replied playfully. "Oh, he's better than that. He could beat the living daylights out of you. That's not important, though. We won't get caught, I'm sure out it." They laughed a little, and Nathan shifted until he was in front of her. "It's good to be home," he asserted decidedly. "It's never felt more like home," his wife said decidedly. They leaned in for a kiss.

THIS IS NOT THE END OF THE STORY UNLESS YOU WANT IT TO BE!!!! Meaning, Read, Review, and Request! Please tell me if this chapter was bad. I really like it, but that might be just me. Haha. OnTheOutsideLookingIn


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